Re: spider 2000 water pump

[Les Singh <Les.Singh@domain.elided>]

>> can someone please give me an idea, on how much time is spend by
>> a qualified mechanic to replace a water pump on a 1983 alfa
>> spider 2000. a shop gave me an estimate of five hours $$$$$, is
>> this about right? That means aprox. $350.00 to replaced the water
>> pump on my spider. response will be greatly appreciated.
>
>Hmm, 5 hours doesn't sound too far off. It's pretty tight in there and
>there's quite a bit to do. To do the job you have to drain the cooling
>system, remove the fan shroud and radiator, remove all the belts, remove
>the crankshaft pulley, remove the old pump, clean the timing cover mating
>surface, replace the pump, crankshaft pulley, belts, radiator and hoses,
>shroud, then refill and pressure test the cooling system. I don't know
>about an Alfa shop, but the last time I did a job like that it took me at
>least 5 hours!


The job takes about 2 hours, maximum because most of the time is taken up
in the compulsory flushing of the cooling system - you might as well while
you're there - and cleaning various things. There is no need to remove the
crank pulley and a whole lot of other stuff but the shroud and fan do have
to come off. 
In a hurry, the whole job can be done in just over an hour but don't expect
any shop to do this. They have their check procedures to make certain that
nothing goes wrong, at least that's what they're supposed to do. My opinion
is that 5 hours labour is excessive. And my advice is - do it yourself;
this is an easy job that every Alfa owner can do.

Les - done it many times, in Wellington, NZ

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